


Fraternity

by gowerstreet



Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Christmas, Family Issues, Gen, Loyalty, Pre-Relationship, Realisation, Regrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 05:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10780386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gowerstreet/pseuds/gowerstreet
Summary: My entry for the Wits on Tap 2017 Challenge. John Watson feels  duty bound to spend  Christmas 1881 away from Baker Street





	Fraternity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Violsva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violsva/gifts).
  * Inspired by [That's for Thoughts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5389334) by [Violsva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violsva/pseuds/Violsva). 



I was not the one at fault, and yet  
it fell to me to repair the damaged link.  
I slunk away to Scotland, leaving without notice.  
Not yet ready to accept the nature of your regard. 

I hid my concerns behind The Times.  
I read each word repeatedly and it became  
a desperate spell against a mistake growing by the mile  
until the season was a wreath around my neck.

I was too slow in remembering  
blood ties held no guarantee of love.  
When Father's will set Henry in the counting house,  
it led me to battles elsewhere at greater cost.

We struggled to find each other  
amid the crowds and smoke at Waverley.  
Until both cleared, and I saw my father's eyes  
floating in a port-marred face.

I should have known  
that Henry's cushioned life would keep him  
as complacent and myopic as the day  
he'd chosen not to see me off to war.

I chose to ignore his tactless mirth  
In noting how I now seemed the elder son.  
I chose to think of what lay ahead for him  
as we failed to resurrect the boys that once had been.

We traipsed through rain-greased streets.  
A stilted civility grew, but little warmth remained.  
A quiet Christmas passed us by,  
Whilst my nights were bookended by sweat-tinged dreams.

I hid the joy of departure in the folds of my coat.  
But once out of Henry's sight,  
my smile escaped as the train breached the border,  
knowing who deserved my loyalty now.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Violsva for submitting this to the challenge. I hope I did it justice.


End file.
